| events=Death of the [[Two Trees]]<br/>[[Flight of the Noldor]]<br/>Destruction of [[Ar-Pharazôn]]

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{{Pronounce|Aman.mp3|Ardamir}}

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'''Aman''' ("Blessed Realm" or "Free from Evil" in [[Quenya]]) is a continent that lies to the west of [[Middle-earth]], across the great ocean [[Belegaer]]. It is the home of the [[Valar]], and three kindreds of [[Elves]]: the [[Vanyar]], some of the [[Noldor]], and some of the [[Teleri]]. The island of [[Tol Eressëa]] lies just off the eastern shore.

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'''Aman''', the '''Blessed Realm''', was a continent that lay to the west of [[Middle-earth]], across the great ocean [[Belegaer]]. It was the home of the [[Valar]], and three kindreds of [[Elves]]: the [[Vanyar]], some of the [[Noldor]], and some of the [[Teleri]]. The island of [[Tol Eressëa]] was located just off the eastern shore.

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==Description==

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The continent of Aman was bordered by [[Ekkaia]] to the west and [[Belegaer]] to the east. When the Valar chose this land for their dwelling they needed a defense against [[Melkor]] and thus upon Aman's [[Haerast|eastern coast]] they raised the [[Pelóri]], the highest mountains on earth, of which [[Taniquetil]] was the tallest of all. Upon this peak were the thrones of [[Manwë]] and [[Varda]].

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Behind the mountain wall was established the domain of [[Valinor]] which became more beautiful than Middle-earth in the [[Spring of Arda]]. In Valinor was [[Valmar]], the city of the Valar. To the west of Valmar was a green mound called [[Ezellohar]] and from this mound grew the [[Two Trees]] that lit the land.<ref name="Days">{{S|Days}}</ref>

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Through the Pelóri was opened a pass, the [[Calacirya]], which brought light to the narrow coastland of [[Eldamar]] and the island of [[Tol Eressëa]].<ref name="Eldamar">{{S|Princes}}</ref> Also beyond the mountain wall were two more regions of Aman: [[Araman]] to the northeast<ref name="Flight">{{S|Flight}}</ref> and [[Avathar]] to the southeast. [[Ungoliant]], a great spider of unknown origin, had managed to escape notice in Avathar.<ref>{{S|Darkening}}</ref>

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In the north Aman was separated from Middle-earth by the narrow straits of the [[Helcaraxe]]. These ice-filled straits served as a path for Melkor and later the host of [[Fingolfin]] to return to Middle-earth.<ref name="Flight"/>

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The Valar later set the [[Enchanted Isles]] in the ocean to prevent travelers by sea from reaching Aman.<ref name="Sun">{{S|Sun}}</ref>

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==History==

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In [[Years of the Lamps|Year of the Lamps]] 3450<ref name="Annals">{{MR|P2a}}</ref> the [[Spring of Arda]] ended when Melkor cast down the [[Two Lamps]] and destroyed the original dwelling of the Valar upon the isle of [[Almaren]]. The Valar departed from [[Middle-earth]] and settled in Aman. There they established the realm of [[Valinor]].<ref name="Days"/>

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After the destruction of the Lamps came the [[Years of the Trees]] and in {{YT|1050}} the [[Elves]] awoke.<ref>{{GA|3}}</ref> At first the Elves were unwilling to heed the summons of the Valar to come to Valinor. The Vala [[Oromë]] selected three ambassadors, [[Ingwë]], [[Finwë]], and [[Elwë]]<ref name="Coming">{{S|Captivity}}</ref> in {{YT|1102|n}}<ref>{{GA|7}}</ref> who were swiftly brought to Aman and beheld the light of the Trees. These three Elven-kings persuaded many of the elves to journey to Aman. In {{YT|1132|n}}<ref>{{GA|11}}</ref> the [[Vanyar]] and [[Noldor]] departed from Middle-earth upon an island that was drawn across the Sea to Aman. The third group of the Elves, the [[Teleri]] remained in Middle-earth until {{YT|1149|n}}<ref>{{GA|13}}</ref> when many of them were brought to Aman.

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The [[Elves]] who arrived to Aman in the Years of the Trees were called [[Amanyar]] or [[Calaquendi]] because they saw the light of the Two Trees. The Valar opened a cleft between the Pelóri, the [[Calacirya]], so that the Light reached the Elves in their lands and cities, [[Eldamar]], [[Tirion]], [[Alqualondë]] and [[Tol Eressëa]].<ref name="Eldamar"/>

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After the Exile of Feanor, the [[Noldor]] were not allowed to return to Valinor,<ref name="Flight"/> and it was hidden from Mortal lands. The Valar heightened the Pelóri even more, fortified Calacirya and raised the Enchanted Isles in the [[Shadowy Seas]].<ref name="Sun"/> There were many attempts to reach the Undying Lands from [[Beleriand]] by ship, of which only [[Voronwë]] Aranwion survived;<ref>{{S|Fifth}}</ref> it is told that maybe [[Tuor]] was, alone of the mortals, allowed to find Aman before his son [[Eärendil]].<ref>{{S|Gondolin}}</ref>

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Eärendil was the first known navigator to succeed in passing the Isles of Enchantment, guided by the light of the [[Silmaril]], who came to Valinor to seek the aid of the Valar against Melkor, now called ''Morgoth''. His quest was successful and the Valar went to war again.<ref>{{S|Earendil}}</ref>

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After the [[War of Wrath]] and the destruction of Beleriand, Aman was no more connected to Middle-earth by the Helcaraxë but could be reached by the ships of the Elves.

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Soon after this, the great island of [[Númenor]] was raised out of Belegaer, far from the shores of Aman, and the Three Houses of the [[Edain]] were brought to live there. Henceforth, they were called the [[Dúnedain]], and were blessed with many gifts by the Valar and the Elves of Tol Eressëa. The Valar feared—rightly—that the [[Númenóreans]] would seek to enter Aman to gain immortality (even though a mortal in Aman remains mortal), so they forbade them from sailing west from Númenor.

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In time, and not without some corrupting help from [[Sauron]], the Númenóreans violated the [[Ban of the Valar]], and sailed to Aman with a great army under the command of [[Ar-Pharazôn]] the Golden. A part of the Pelóri collapsed upon this army, trapping it but not killing it. It is said that the army still lives underneath the pile of rock in the [[Caves of the Forgotten]].

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In light of this development, the land of Aman was decisively and forever isolated from the other lands. The flat [[Arda]] was cloven in two, and the rest was made round, so that a mariner sailing west along Eärendil's route would simply emerge in the far east. For the Elves, however, a [[Straight Road]] remains that peels away from the curvature of the earth and passes to Aman.<ref>{{S|Akallabeth}}</ref> A very few non-Elves are known to have passed along this road, including [[Frodo Baggins]], [[Bilbo Baggins]], and possibly [[Samwise Gamgee]] and [[Gimli]].<ref>{{App|Later}}, {{SR|1482}} and {{SR|1541}}</ref>

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Upon the destruction of [[Almaren]] in very ancient times, the Valar fled to Aman, and there established the realm of [[Valinor]]. Seeking to isolate themselves, they raised a great mountain fence, called the [[Pelóri]], on the eastern coast, and set the [[Enchanted Isles]] in the ocean to prevent travelers by sea from reaching Aman.

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==Etymology==

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The [[Quenya]] name ''Aman'' is glossed as "Blessed Land",<ref name=VT49>{{VT|49a}}, pp. 26-7</ref> or "blessed, free from evil".<ref>{{WJ|P4}}, p. 399</ref>

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For reasons unknown, the Valar left two lands outside the wall of the Pelóri: [[Araman]] to the northeast and [[Avathar]] to the southeast. [[Ungoliant]], a great spider of unknown origin, had managed to escape notice in Avathar. When [[Melkor]] was released from his captivity, he fled to Avathar, scaled the mountains with Ungoliant's help, and wrought destruction of great consequence in Aman.

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The etymology of the name ''Aman'' changed over time in [[J.R.R. Tolkien|Tolkien]]'s writings. In early linguistic writings, ''Aman'' was intended to be a "native [[Quenya]] form", derived from the root MAN ("good"). However, in later writings (such as ''[[Quendi and Eldar]]''), the name is said to derive from a [[Valarin]] word.<ref name=VT49/>

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The first navigator to succeed in passing the [[Isles of Enchantment]] was [[Eärendil the Mariner|Eärendil]], who came to Valinor to seek the aid of the Valar against Melkor, now called ''Morgoth''. His quest was successful, the Valar went to war again, and also decided to remove the Isles.

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Soon after this, the great island of [[Númenor]] was raised out of Belegaer, close to the shores of Aman, and the Three Houses of the [[Edain]] were brought to live there. Henceforth, they were called the [[Dúnedain]], or "Men of the West", and were blessed with many gifts by the Valar and the Elves of Tol Eressëa. The Valar feared—rightly—that the [[Númenóreans]] would seek to enter Aman to gain immortality (even though a mortal in Aman remains mortal), so they forbade them from sailing west of the westernmost promontory of Númenor. In time, and not without some corrupting help from [[Sauron]], the Númenóreans violated the [[Ban of the Valar]], and sailed to Aman with a great army under the command of [[Ar-Pharazôn]] the Golden. The Valar collapsed a part of the Pelóri on this army, trapping it but not killing it. It is said that the army still lives underneath the pile of rock.

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==Other names==

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Aman was also called the Ancient West, Blessed Realm and the Undying Lands

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<ref>{{App|Numenor}}</ref> or just [[Valinor]]. In [[Adûnaic]] it was called ''Thâni anAmân'' or ''Amatthâni''.{{fact}} In ''[[The Hobbit]]'' Tolkien also calls this continent "Faerie in the West".

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<ref>{{H|Flies}}</ref>

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In light of this new development, the Valar decided to again isolate themselves from the other lands, but by a more decisive method than enchanted islands. The earth, at this time, was flat. They clove it in two, and made the half containing Middle-earth round, so that a mariner sailing west along Eärendil's route would simply emerge in the far east. For the Elves, however, they crafted a [[Straight Road]] that peels away from the curvature of the earth and passes to Aman. A very few non-Elves are known to have passed along this road, including [[Frodo Baggins]], [[Bilbo Baggins]], and possibly [[Samwise Gamgee]] and [[Gimli]].

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==Immortality==

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==Etymology==

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[[Robert Foster]] said in his foreword to ''[[The Complete Guide to Middle-earth]]'' that he did not provide death dates for protagonists who sailed in the West "''for they still live''". Steuard Jensen, while noting that Tolkien "''seems to have been initially unsure''" if the "''mortals who sailed to the West would remain mortal''", comments that are strong arguments in favour of the opposite view, citing from two letters by Tolkien:<ref>{{webcite|author=Steuard Jensen|articleurl=http://tolkien.slimy.com/faq/History.html#MortalsWest|articlename=Did Frodo and the other mortals who passed over the Sea eventually die?|dated=|website=FAQ|accessed=25 March 2012}}</ref>

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Aman derives from the [[sundocarmë]] A-MAN through the Intensification of its [[sundóma]]. From the same root also comes the name ''[[Manwë]]''.

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{{blockquote|...certain 'mortals', who have played some great part in Elvish affairs, may pass with the Elves to Elvenhome...I have said nothing about it in this book [''The Lord of the Rings''], but the mythical idea underlying is that for mortals, since their 'kind' cannot be changed for ever, this is strictly only a temporary reward: a healing and redress of suffering. They cannot abide for ever, and though they cannot return to mortal earth, they can and will 'die' - of free will, and leave the world.|[[Letter 154]]}}

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{{blockquote|Frodo was sent or allowed to pass over Sea to heal him - if that could be done, before he died. He would have eventually to 'pass away': no mortal could, or can, abide for ever on earth, or within Time.|[[Letter 246]]}}

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Other important arguments against the immortality of the mortals who sailed to Aman can be found in another letter and in a passage from ''[[The Akallabêth]]'':

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{{blockquote|As for ''Frodo'' or other mortals, they could only dwell in ''Aman'' for a limited time - whether brief or long. The ''Valar'' had neither the power nor the right to confer 'immortality' upon them. Their sojourn was a 'purgatory', but one of peace and healing and they would eventually pass away (''die'' at their own desire and of free will) to destinations of which the Elves knew nothing."|[[Letter 325]]}}

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{{blockquote|The Eldar reported these words to the Valar, and Manwë was grieved, seeing a cloud gather on the noontide of Númenor. And he sent messengers to the Dúnedain, who spoke earnestly to the King, and to all who would listen, concerning the fate and fashion of the world.<br/><br/>‘The Doom of the World,’ they said, ‘One alone can change who made it. And were you so to voyage that escaping all deceits and snares you came indeed to Aman, the Blessed Realm, little would it profit you. For it is not the land of Manwë that makes its people deathless, but the Deathless that dwell therein have hallowed the land; and there you would but wither and grow weary the sooner, as moths in a light too strong and steadfast.’|{{S|Akallabeth}}}}

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The Undying Lands were likely thus called like that because immortals dwelled in them, not because they granted immortality.

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{{references}}

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Aman was also called the Ancient West, Blessed Realm and the Undying Lands. In [[Adûnaic]] it was called Thâni anAmân or Amatthâni.

Contents

Description

The continent of Aman was bordered by Ekkaia to the west and Belegaer to the east. When the Valar chose this land for their dwelling they needed a defense against Melkor and thus upon Aman's eastern coast they raised the Pelóri, the highest mountains on earth, of which Taniquetil was the tallest of all. Upon this peak were the thrones of Manwë and Varda.

Behind the mountain wall was established the domain of Valinor which became more beautiful than Middle-earth in the Spring of Arda. In Valinor was Valmar, the city of the Valar. To the west of Valmar was a green mound called Ezellohar and from this mound grew the Two Trees that lit the land.[1]

Through the Pelóri was opened a pass, the Calacirya, which brought light to the narrow coastland of Eldamar and the island of Tol Eressëa.[2] Also beyond the mountain wall were two more regions of Aman: Araman to the northeast[3] and Avathar to the southeast. Ungoliant, a great spider of unknown origin, had managed to escape notice in Avathar.[4]

In the north Aman was separated from Middle-earth by the narrow straits of the Helcaraxe. These ice-filled straits served as a path for Melkor and later the host of Fingolfin to return to Middle-earth.[3]

The Valar later set the Enchanted Isles in the ocean to prevent travelers by sea from reaching Aman.[5]

After the destruction of the Lamps came the Years of the Trees and in Y.T.1050 the Elves awoke.[7] At first the Elves were unwilling to heed the summons of the Valar to come to Valinor. The Vala Oromë selected three ambassadors, Ingwë, Finwë, and Elwë[8] in 1102[9] who were swiftly brought to Aman and beheld the light of the Trees. These three Elven-kings persuaded many of the elves to journey to Aman. In 1132[10] the Vanyar and Noldor departed from Middle-earth upon an island that was drawn across the Sea to Aman. The third group of the Elves, the Teleri remained in Middle-earth until 1149[11] when many of them were brought to Aman.

After the Exile of Feanor, the Noldor were not allowed to return to Valinor,[3] and it was hidden from Mortal lands. The Valar heightened the Pelóri even more, fortified Calacirya and raised the Enchanted Isles in the Shadowy Seas.[5] There were many attempts to reach the Undying Lands from Beleriand by ship, of which only Voronwë Aranwion survived;[12] it is told that maybe Tuor was, alone of the mortals, allowed to find Aman before his son Eärendil.[13]

Eärendil was the first known navigator to succeed in passing the Isles of Enchantment, guided by the light of the Silmaril, who came to Valinor to seek the aid of the Valar against Melkor, now called Morgoth. His quest was successful and the Valar went to war again.[14]

After the War of Wrath and the destruction of Beleriand, Aman was no more connected to Middle-earth by the Helcaraxë but could be reached by the ships of the Elves.

Soon after this, the great island of Númenor was raised out of Belegaer, far from the shores of Aman, and the Three Houses of the Edain were brought to live there. Henceforth, they were called the Dúnedain, and were blessed with many gifts by the Valar and the Elves of Tol Eressëa. The Valar feared—rightly—that the Númenóreans would seek to enter Aman to gain immortality (even though a mortal in Aman remains mortal), so they forbade them from sailing west from Númenor.

In time, and not without some corrupting help from Sauron, the Númenóreans violated the Ban of the Valar, and sailed to Aman with a great army under the command of Ar-Pharazôn the Golden. A part of the Pelóri collapsed upon this army, trapping it but not killing it. It is said that the army still lives underneath the pile of rock in the Caves of the Forgotten.

In light of this development, the land of Aman was decisively and forever isolated from the other lands. The flat Arda was cloven in two, and the rest was made round, so that a mariner sailing west along Eärendil's route would simply emerge in the far east. For the Elves, however, a Straight Road remains that peels away from the curvature of the earth and passes to Aman.[15] A very few non-Elves are known to have passed along this road, including Frodo Baggins, Bilbo Baggins, and possibly Samwise Gamgee and Gimli.[16]

Etymology

The Quenya name Aman is glossed as "Blessed Land",[17] or "blessed, free from evil".[18]

The etymology of the name Aman changed over time in Tolkien's writings. In early linguistic writings, Aman was intended to be a "native Quenya form", derived from the root MAN ("good"). However, in later writings (such as Quendi and Eldar), the name is said to derive from a Valarin word.[17]

Other names

Aman was also called the Ancient West, Blessed Realm and the Undying Lands
[19] or just Valinor. In Adûnaic it was called Thâni anAmân or Amatthâni.[source?] In The Hobbit Tolkien also calls this continent "Faerie in the West".
[20]

Immortality

Robert Foster said in his foreword to The Complete Guide to Middle-earth that he did not provide death dates for protagonists who sailed in the West "for they still live". Steuard Jensen, while noting that Tolkien "seems to have been initially unsure" if the "mortals who sailed to the West would remain mortal", comments that are strong arguments in favour of the opposite view, citing from two letters by Tolkien:[21]

...certain 'mortals', who have played some great part in Elvish affairs, may pass with the Elves to Elvenhome...I have said nothing about it in this book [The Lord of the Rings], but the mythical idea underlying is that for mortals, since their 'kind' cannot be changed for ever, this is strictly only a temporary reward: a healing and redress of suffering. They cannot abide for ever, and though they cannot return to mortal earth, they can and will 'die' - of free will, and leave the world.—Letter 154

Frodo was sent or allowed to pass over Sea to heal him - if that could be done, before he died. He would have eventually to 'pass away': no mortal could, or can, abide for ever on earth, or within Time.—Letter 246

Other important arguments against the immortality of the mortals who sailed to Aman can be found in another letter and in a passage from The Akallabêth:

As for Frodo or other mortals, they could only dwell in Aman for a limited time - whether brief or long. The Valar had neither the power nor the right to confer 'immortality' upon them. Their sojourn was a 'purgatory', but one of peace and healing and they would eventually pass away (die at their own desire and of free will) to destinations of which the Elves knew nothing."—Letter 325

The Eldar reported these words to the Valar, and Manwë was grieved, seeing a cloud gather on the noontide of Númenor. And he sent messengers to the Dúnedain, who spoke earnestly to the King, and to all who would listen, concerning the fate and fashion of the world.

‘The Doom of the World,’ they said, ‘One alone can change who made it. And were you so to voyage that escaping all deceits and snares you came indeed to Aman, the Blessed Realm, little would it profit you. For it is not the land of Manwë that makes its people deathless, but the Deathless that dwell therein have hallowed the land; and there you would but wither and grow weary the sooner, as moths in a light too strong and steadfast.’—J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Akallabêth: The Downfall of Númenor"

The Undying Lands were likely thus called like that because immortals dwelled in them, not because they granted immortality.